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| RULES |
BOC Community Rules
BOC Staff / Community
Rules
Your use of the BOC forum
indicates your acceptance of the following rules:
1. BOC Staff
A. BOC Staff
assignments are unpaid voluntary positions held by loyal and
responsible members of the community. Their principal responsibility is
the overall health of the organization and member’s satisfaction within
the community. All Staff members conduct operations within left and
right limits as outlined in the organizations code of conduct.
B. Staff members donate massive amounts of time and bring
distinctive backgrounds and skills to the collective table. Any
organization would be hard-pressed to find a more committed team so
tightly focused on the short range and long range mission outlined for
the BOC.
C. The Staff is task organized into two principal efforts, Primary
Staff, and Assistant Staff.
1. Primary Staff: Primary Staff have access to all critical core
functions of the community, mediate member problems, and work on
expansion.
2. Assistant Staff:
Assistant Staff are the ground fighters who are charged with
maintaining the BOC forum in a state of organization.
To contact the BOC Staff, Click here
2. Profanity
No vulgar language or profanity - Judgment Calls are made by Site
Moderators in the context of that thread. We don't want to rain on
anybody's parade, but realize we do have young adults on the board and
it's our unwritten duty as Adults to try and set a good example for
them.
3. Product Marketing
A. No advertising or product marketing - No commercial ads allowed. An
advertisement is categorized as an outright attempt to solicit
business. Any such posts will be removed. To get your product or
company listed email us for a low cost quote. The largest concentration
of on-line catfishermen in the world possesses great VALUE and we will
not allow any business/individual entity to advertise without proper
authorization and benefit to the site and its members.
You are not allowed to post links that lead to an affiliate program or
that in any way earn you something. We consider you earning something
if you have an affiliate ID, website, or if you earn money from banner
impressions or click-thru's. If you feel that you have a service or
product that the members can benefit from notify BOC Staff.
Posts considered in violation of this rule will be removed by BOC Staff.
B. Paylakes: Paylakes mentioned by name will be removed from the BOC, or have the post edited to remove the name of the paylake out of the posts.
4. Links to Off-site Data
Links to Personal or Business Web-Pages is authorized as long as it is
done for member support. Links must not point to forums, as they
directly compete with the BOC. Email addresses should not be posted on
the Forums, the Personal Message (PM) function must be used for member
to member communications. If a link is removed, open a trouble
ticket for an explanation.
Links in public profiles:
Members with web sites may place link to their non-commercial home page in their public profile, WITH BOC STAFF APPROVAL, by reciprical link arrangement, where member places a prominent Reciprical Link to the BOC on their home page.
If you wish to take advantage of this option, contact BOC Staff for
Approval, provide member name and url to your homepage in the trouble
ticket.
Staff can provide you a copy and paste HTML code for your home page
5. BOC Classified Ads
Complete details and rules associated with this service is located for
download from this location.
6. BOC Star Membership
http://www.catfish1.com/starmember/
BOC Donations are
non-refundable. Star Membership is valid
for the calendar year the donation is made, January 1st through
December 31st.
On Jan 1st of the New Year, all donations are set back to zero. The
minimum
donation amount to receive a BOC Star is $10.
STAR BENEFITS:
$10 Support Level
- Place your
non-commercial website link in your signature and profile. A BOC
reciprocal
link must be on your website. A Staff Member must approve links.
- Private Message (PM) limit increased to 150 messages,
rather than the standard 50.
$20 Support Level
- Place your
non-commercial website link in your signature and profile. A BOC
reciprocal
link must be on your website. A Staff Member must approve links.
- Private Message (PM) limit increased to 200 messages,
rather than the standard 50.
$30 Support Level
- Place your
non-commercial website link in your signature and profile. A BOC
reciprocal
link must be on your website. A Staff Member must approve links.
- Private Message (PM) limit increased to 250 messages,
rather than the standard 50.
$40 Support Level
- Place your
non-commercial website link in your signature and profile. A BOC
reciprocal
link must be on your website. A Staff Member must approve links.
- Private Message (PM) limit increased to 250 messages,
rather than the standard 50.
- You can upload an
image for your signature. Images must be non-commercial in nature and
are
limited to 100 Pixels in Height and 500 Pixels in width.
$50 Support Level
- Place your
non-commercial website link in your signature and profile. A BOC
reciprocal
link must be on your website. A Staff Member must approve links.
- Private Message (PM) limit increased to 250 messages,
rather than the standard 50.
- You can upload an image for your signature. Images must be
non-commercial in nature and are limited to 100 Pixels in Height and
500 Pixels
in width.
- Select your own
custom title. Must not be advertising or disruptive in nature. Must not
be so
long as it causes a page to scroll within a thread. The custom title
will be
displayed in your posts and profile page in place of any title
specified by the
BOC for a group or post count.
$60 Support Level
- Place your
non-commercial website link in your signature and profile. A BOC
reciprocal
link must be on your website. A Staff Member must approve links.
- Private Message (PM) limit increased to 250 messages,
rather than the standard 50.
- You can upload an image for your signature. Images must be
non-commercial in nature and are limited to 100 Pixels in Height and
500 Pixels
in width.
- Select your own custom title. Must not be advertising or
disruptive in nature. Must not be so long as it causes a page to scroll
within
a thread. The custom title will be displayed in your posts and profile
page in
place of any title specified by the BOC for a group or post count.
- Set yourself to invisible mode. Members of this group will
be able to set themselves to invisible in the (Edit Options) section of
their
User CP.
7. Sponsors
Sponsors may place the URL of their business in the signature for the
duration of their advertising campaign.
8. Message Boards
Message Board Direct Links: No links directly or indirectly to other
boards. We allow a wide leeway for links, but based on the cost,
effort, and time invested, we will launch a nuclear strike on any post
or links to other message boards. If you are listed in search engines
and have a quality board, our members will find you eventually. If you
want to advertise your Board get a low cost ad on the site.
The BOC expends great amounts of energy and finance in maintaining and
growing the organization. Links which lead to other message boards will
be removed, as our advertising dollars are being used to provide
benefit to these communities.
9. Avatar and Profile Pictures,
Signature Rules
The Avatar picture option was created to allow members to visually
identify who they are talking to and create an atmosphere of friendship
by sharing your personal image, "Your face". This option does create a
more favorable environment for all and is strictly voluntary to
participate in.
The Avatar picture option will only contain a relatively recent
recognizable photo of yourself and will not be abused by placing
advertisements,
pictures of dogs, cats, cartoons, or other images or other forms of
animated media.
The Profile picture can be used to display another photo that you like
as long as the picture is in good taste and does not contain
advertisements.
The signature section of your profile may contain no more than 4
lines. Signatures which are too long, do not conform with
the other rules regarding signatures, or which interfere with the
display or readability of messages will be edited or removed.
10. Making Posts
The BOC is not responsible for any material posted on the BOC message
board. As a BOC member you agree not to upload, transmit, distribute or
otherwise publish on the BOC Materials which are:
Libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, pornographic, threatening, or
an invasion of privacy; an infringement of the intellectual property
rights, including, but not limited to, copyrights and trademarks, of
any person or entity; illegal in any way or which advocates illegal
activity; an advertisement or solicitation of funds, goods, or
services.
The BOC does not and cannot review or monitor every posting made on the
message board, and is not responsible as such for the content of such
postings. However, the BOC reserves the right at all times to disclose
any information necessary in its sole discretion to satisfy any law,
regulation or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or
remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in the
BOC's opinion are objectionable or in violation of these terms and
conditions.
Moderators and Administrators have final authority in any process,
procedure, or situation within catfish1.com. If you have an issue or a
complaint direct it to a staff member through a trouble ticket, private
mail or e-mail, not to the general forums. Staff will take the
appropriate action(s), which may differ from your viewpoint,
considering the total community concept. This applies to any issue with
the community in general, as well as issues with other members. Strong
arm tactics will be immediately removed from the network.
Example: Hey Guys, they removed my post about advertising XYZ company,
do you guys think it should be allowed? Isn’t this a violation of our
rights?
Example 2: Hey All, I had a link to a catfish shocker for Google, I
posted it just to show that these devices are for sale, and for
information only. Don’t you guys think we should be able to post links
to catfish shockers?
We remind you that membership is a privilege, NOT a right. As a private
community, the administration and moderators have total say as to which
members are, and are not allowed access to the catfish1 network. This
applies for single posts and threads, and anything “deemed” to be
inappropriate by any member of the staff. Members who continue to
ignore this rule will be removed with no possibility of return. The BOC
reserves the right to revoke your membership to the BOC forum and/or to
disable your ability to post for any reason or for no reason whatsoever
at any time. Multiple accounts are not permitted.
11. Communication Styles
Even when the same language is used, people interpret information
differently. Therefore, the message sent is not always the message
received. Differences in communication styles can make the sender of
the message appear to be pushy, rude, aggressive, passive, etc. Factors
involved in this are volume and rapidity of typed speech, tone of the
post, and emphasis on key words.
People make judgments about others based on the kinds of expressions
they use because of the region of country from which they come. Members
need to understand that certain terms are unique to individuals from
certain regions, and are normal practice for the area.
The fact that people have different experiences accounts for many of
the problems that occur when they try to interact cross-culturally.
Cultural, racial, and gender differences affect our experiences. Our
experiences directly relate to our ability to communicate. For example,
if you are from a broken family, the word "family" might have a
different meaning or emotional charge for you than for someone from a
different family situation.
Your understanding and careful posting prevents many issues that arise
from perceived understanding. Always double check your post, and don’t
make remarks, which can be construed as inciting. They are easily
recognizable, and only cause long term problems between members of the
community.
If you don’t personally like a certain member, keep it to yourself, and
don’t respond to messages generated from that member.
Posting / Chatting Guidlines:
There are common courtesies to follow when posting or in the BOC chat.
Following them will put you, in other memebrs' eyes, as being cordial,
polite, and a nice person. Some of those courtesies are as follows:
A. Don't type all in CAPS. That's considered shouting.
B. Be kind to newcomers. These people usually are not sure of what to
do and will be a bit unsure of what to say. Be friendly and welcome
them into the BOC.
C. Be respectful of other posters and try not to express your own views
or opinions too strenuously. You are as responsible for making the
others' visit as pleasant as they are yours. It often pays to listen
more than post.
D. Don't be bossy or monopolize the threads or chat rooms. Don't try to
pressure the other members to stick to a particular topic or dictate
what the others can do or say.
E. Large bold type should be used for an occasion emphasis on a word,
not for an entire message.
12. Complaints or accusations against
BOC Members
Moderators are the “eyes and ears” of the BOC. They keep informed of
potential areas of concern as reflected by trends; they function as the
fact finder and honest broker in the resolution of complaints; they
educate and train and help the BOC prevent, detect, and correct
mismanagement and situations which jeopardize the overall health of the organization.
When Moderators are apprised of complaints or accusations against BOC
Members, they will be expected to inquire into the matter and attempt a
resolution. Confidentiality is of the highest concern, but can’t be
guaranteed.
The subject of an inquiry will not normally be contacted if the
allegation based on the weight of the evidence can't be substantiated.
Your help in preventing the propagation of rumors is extremely
appreciated.
If you have a problem with another member, please use the "trouble ticket" system to alert the BOC staff. Posts on the BOC forum with accusations/insults/arguments between members are not permitted and will be removed.
13. Sources of Conflict
Trying to identify or determine the cause of conflict is sometimes
difficult to analyze. Heightened emotions or bad feelings may cloud the
real cause of any conflict and detract from examining the facts.
The cause of conflict can also have multiple factors which makes it
difficult to isolate just one cause. The following is a list of common
causes in conflict situations normally adjudicated on the BOC.
a. Different values and beliefs.
b. Role pressure or clarification.
c. Perception differences.
d. Diverse goals or objectives.
e. Race, ethnicity, or gender differences.
f. Personality clash or conflict.
g. Competition for limited resources.
h. Disagreement on how things should be done.
i. Personal interest.
j. Tension and stress
All conflict given the right opportunity and motivation can be
resolved, but not always to the satisfaction of all parties. The effect
of disagreement and the methods for resolution depend on how conflict
is managed by the member(s) and the BOC Staff.
14. Informal funds
Moderators may authorize informal funds. Examples of informal funds are
House Burned Down, cup and flower, Lost Equipment, “Theft”, etc.
These fund raisers are subject to the following guidelines.
a. Use is limited to expenses consistent with the
purpose and function of the fund.
b. Only one individual is to be responsible for fund
custody, accounting, and documentation.
c. The BOC Staff prior to announcement to the
membership MUST approve fund raising. Fund Raisers are not normally
approved except for extenuating circumstances.
15. Hazing
The BOC has been and continues to be a values based organization where
everyone is encouraged to do what is right by treating others as they
should be treated ,with dignity and respect. Hazing is fundamentally in
opposition to our values and is prohibited.
a. Definition. Hazing is defined as any conduct whereby one BOC member,
regardless of position or rank, unnecessarily causes another BOC member
to suffer or be exposed to an activity, which is cruel, abusive,
oppressive, or harmful.
b. Tight Bonds. Members of the BOC who are extremely close, that engage
in word play, is not considered hazing. Once a member of the group
objects, a request will be sent to cease and desist.
17. BOC Staff Authority
a. Privilege to Authority. Authority is exercised by
virtue of position, and the special assignment of moderators of the
Brotherhood Of Catfishermen holding an authorized position who are
eligible to exercise forum authority. A Moderator is therefore a member
who, by virtue of experience and assignment, is authorized to exercise
authority over the organization. The privilege to act on behalf of the
community is a decentralized action, which uses the rules of weight,
not shadow of a doubt. The rules of weight in simple terms are, “More
likely than not”, it’s the truth.
b. Example: If you strike your hand with a hammer,
“More likely than not”, it would hurt. At all times BOC Staff are
trying to achieve a “Proactive”, not “Reactive” role. If a fire can be
stopped while its smoldering, the damage is minimized, and this
benefits the whole.
c. Elements of Moderation. The key elements of
moderation are authority and responsibility. Formal authority for BOC
Staff Assignment is derived from the policies, procedures, and
precedents presented and set forth by the BOC Founder. An in-house
system of, “on the job training”, support from Staff technical
channels, and life experience assist in ensuring a reputable platform.
d. Characteristics of Moderation. The Moderator is
responsible for establishing membership climate and developing an
atmosphere that is free from harassment and other distracters. Removal
of members is always considered a last recourse.
18. Open Door Policy
BOC Staff have an open door policy within the BOC. Members are
responsible to ensure that the BOC Staff is made aware of problems that
affect climate, morale, and environment; and an open door policy allows
members of the BOC to present facts, concerns, problems of a personal
nature, or other issues, which the member has been unable to resolve.
Moderators are responsible for ensuring that member’s issues are
responded to in a timely, fair and confidential manner.
19. BOC Tournament Section Rules
The BOC supports it’s “Partners in Catfishing” and only those tournaments that take part in this program will be permitted to discuss results, schedules, etc.
Discussion of tournaments that are not in the Partners in Catfishing program will not be allowed. Tournament discussion should be confined to the tournaments section of the board.
If your tournament would like to be included, please contact Paul (Catfish_Commando) via PM.
20. Personal Messages
Ppersonal messages (PM's)may be sent by any member in good standing that has
made 10 or more posts on the BOC Forums. Members with fewer than
10 posts will still be able to recieve PM's, but will not be able to
reply until the 10 post requirement has been met.
|
| Privacy Policy |
| BROTHERHOOD OF CATFISHERMAN PRIVACY POLICY
Thank you for visiting Catfish1.com. Catfish1.com is committed to honoring the privacy of our members and visitors.
This privacy policy, covers personally identifiable information within our
service.
What information does Catfish1 receive and how do we use it?
When you
register for an account at Catfish1, we ask you for your name, contact
information, preferences, and certain demographic information. This information
lets us provide personalized services and communicate separately with you. We
also use aggregated information about the use of our services to evaluate our
users' preferences, improve our programming, and reporting of internet usage.
Like most websites, we use small bits of data called cookies stored on user's
computers to simulate a continuous connection. Cookies let us "remember"
information about your preferences and passwords and allow you to move within
our Service without reintroducing yourself. Recent versions of Netscape's
browsers let you easily see and control cookies.
May I choose what information I
disclose?
While we need certain information to register you as a unique user and
let you access personalized services, other requested information is optional
and may be given at your discretion.
May I choose what communications I receive?
We only e-mail you if you ask for assistance. Member e-mails are handled thru
our server, other members cant see your e-mail unless you choose to show it. The
moderators run a pretty tight ship and keep 99.99% of all the Nut-Cases out. To
this date only one member has used our private e-mail service to send
unsolicited e-mails, which in itself is a drawn out, time consuming process.
Each member may only send 1 Private Mail per 1 hour period.
What if I need to
review or change the personal information I previously disclosed?
We encourage
members to update and edit their personal information and keep it current. You
can easily correct or update your personal information at any time via our
Profile Manager.
What kind of security is used to protect my information?
We
store all user information in secure databases protected via a variety of access
controls. This data is accessed only for the purposes specified in this privacy
statement. Who has access to my information? We do not sell, rent, give or by
any other means provide user list's of info to anybody. What about children's
information? Only Children over 13 are authorized access to Catfish1.com with a
Parents Permission.
Who can I contact if I have any questions regarding my
privacy?
Please contact us directly with any questions or comments. If we have
not satisfactorily responded within five business days you should post your
question in the open forum. For general information regarding privacy you can
visit TRUSTe, BBB Online, or the Federal Trade Commission. |
| BOC Copyright |
| The past, present and future Brotherhood of Catfishermen, (http:www.catfish1.com / http:www.brotherhood-of-catfishermen.com, shown hereafter as BOC) Web Sites content, including, without limitation, organization, graphics, text, images, audio, videos, designs, compilations, advertising copy, and the trademarks, logos, domain names, trade names, service marks and trade identities; any and all copyrightable material (including source and object code); and all other materials related to the Web Sites, including without limitation, the "look and feel" of the Web Sites (collectively, "Content") are protected by applicable copyrights and other proprietary (including, but not limited to, intellectual property) rights and are the property of Paul Louderback/BOC, its subsidiaries, affiliates, or its licensors. Except as expressly set forth in these rukes or otherwise expressly granted to you in writing by Paul Louderback/BOC, no rights (either by implication, estoppel or otherwise) are granted to you. The copying, reproduction, rearrangement, sales, leasing, renting, distribution, redistribution, modification, downloading, exchanging, creating of derivative works, uploading, posting, transmitting, or publication by you, directly or indirectly, of the Content, including the removal or alteration of advertising, except pursuant to the express limited grant of rights hereunder, is strictly prohibited. You agree to abide by any and all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any part of the Web Sites. Copying, archiving or storing any part of the Web Sites for a purpose that is not permitted by these rules is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from Paul Louderback or the applicable copyright holder as identified on the Web Sites.
Subject to your strict compliance with these rules, Paul Louderback/BOC grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-commercial, revocable, non-assignable and non-transferable license to download - view, use and/or play a single copy of the Content (excluding source and object code), provided that you: (i) retain all trademark, copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original Content or any copy you may make of the Content; (ii) do not allow or aid or abet any third party (whether or not for your benefit) to copy or adapt the object code of the Web Sites' software, HTML, JavaScript, or other code; reverse engineer, decompile, reverse assemble, modify or attempt to discover any source code that the Web Sites create to generate its web pages; or any software or other products or processes accessible through the Web Sites; and (iii) do not insert any code or product to manipulate the Content in any way that affects any user's experience.
Except as otherwise described in the posted privacy policy or other agreement on the BOC , information you upload/post/submit for use (Your Upload Information) will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary and the BOC will not be liable for any use or disclosure to anyone, including but not limited to claimed intellectual property owners. When you upload Your Upload Information via the Web Sites, you irrevocably grant to Paul Louderback/BOC, its affiliates, and partners a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license containing, without limitation, all right, title and interest in Your Upload Information, including, without limitation, all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade identities, copyrights, trade secrets, logos, domain names, know-how, source code and object code, mask-work rights, inventions, moral rights, author's rights, algorithms, rights in packaging, goodwill and other intellectual property and proprietary rights whatsoever in Your Upload Information. You further agree that Paul Louderback/BOC, its affiliates, and partners and the directors, officers, employees, licensees and other representatives of each of them will have the unfettered right throughout the universe, in perpetuity, without any credit or compensation to you, to use, reuse, modify, alter, display, archive, publish, sub-license, perform, reproduce, disclose, transmit, broadcast, post, sell, translate, create derivative works of, distribute and use for advertising, marketing, publicity and promotional purposes, any of Your Upload Information or portions of Your Upload Information, and your name, voice, likeness and other identifying information, in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now known or developed in the future for any purposes whatsoever including, without limitation, developing, manufacturing and marketing products using such Uploaded Information. You hereby waive any moral rights you may have in and to any of Your Upload Information, even if such material is altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. You agree and understand that Paul Louderback and the BOC, its affiliates, and partners are not obligated to use Your Upload Information submitted through the Web Sites or otherwise, and may alternatively choose to discard, and limit or block access to Your Uploaded Information without any liability whatsoever.
You acknowledge that the Paul Louderback and the BOC, its subsidiaries, affiliates, and partners undertakes no obligation to pre-screen Your Upload Information, but that it has the right, in its sole discretion to modify, transmit over various networks, refuse, move, block access to or remove any of Your Upload Information. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any of Your Upload Information including, but not limited to, any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of Your Upload Information. Since Paul Louderback/BOC, its affiliates, and partners may not pre-screen user generated content, you may bear legal responsibility for others' exposure to any offensive indecent or objectionable content in Your Upload Information. If you do not agree to the terms of these rules, do not post or submit content to the BOC. |
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